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History

Radley has an interesting history dating back to ancient times. Radley History Club carries out research into past events in Radley and the lives of its inhabitants. Read its brief history of Radley here or, for a more detailed history of the village see its book, The History of Radley, published in 2002. Archaeological excavations have been carried out at Barrow Hills, most recently in the 1980s and, more extensively, at Thrupp on the southern edge of the parish over the past 25 years. These have revealed evidence of human habitation dating back to the Stone Age (Palaeolithic) era.

The information in these pages is drawn from books published by Radley History Club, material in the Club’s archive and research carried out by the Club.
 

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School Radley Oak Church

 

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Click on an image for historical information relating to the subject in the title.
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Railway   Radley Vicarage

 

 
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The Bowyer Arms
  
 

Permanent link to this article: http://www.radleyvillage.org.uk/ourvillage/history/

Radley School

Radley School  The oldest section of Radley Primary School was built in 1872. The adjourning School House predates it though its precise age in uncertain. Prior to 1897, the school and the land on which it stood was owned by the Bowyer family and leased to the Church for 26 shillings (£1.30) per year. In …

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The Radley Oak, January 2005

The Radley Oak

  The Radley Oak stands in the grounds of Radley College adjacent to the public footpath leading up to Lodge Hill. With a girth of 28 feet (8.5 metres) it is certainly more than 300 years old, though, since the bole is hollow, its true age cannot be determined with any certainty. However the tree is …

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Radley Parish Church

The current parish church of St James the Great in Radley was consecrated in about 1300. It is a beautiful building with the original, and rare, wooden pillars still standing. The church does not have a north aisle and transept, giving a rather lop-sided feeling. There is a long-standing tradition …

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History of the Railway

Since it was built in 1844, the railway through Radley has had an important influence on the village and its surroundings. Radley Station was established in 1873, providing a junction between the main line and the branch line (now dismantled) to Abingdon. It replaced an earlier basic junction in the south of the parish, the …

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The Vicarage

The original date of the timber-framed vicarage is uncertain but it is thought to date from the 13th or 14th century, with 15th century modifications and a 17th century extension. Radley Vicarage might well be the oldest building in the country to have been in continuous use as the home of a church’s incumbent. It …

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History of the Bowyer Arms

The village pub, the Bowyer Arms, was built around the middle of the 19th century, at least 10 years before the nearby station opened. The name derives from the Bowyer family who, at the time, owned the Radley Hall Estate and many properties in and around the village, having inherited them from the Stonhouse …

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The Village Pond

Our village pond is what remains of the village smithy and the smithy pond. It is known from old maps and pictures that the smithy was still in situ as late as 1885 (The History of Radley by Radley History Club 2002) This painting (courtesy of Radley History Club) shows pieces of a cart under …

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